dockman

and this: The Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess swapped names during construction due to a fire that delayed the construction of the original Diamond Princess Both ships were built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan

how many dollars bet for point playing 3/2 blackjack? txs

Diamond is the only princess ship that i know that seems to have been designed for japanese with signage in japanese (and english) all over the ship and even special japanese bath at the back level. Yes does lots of Japan/asia and then off to oz. Last year from yokohama to syd there were 300 Japanese clients but the vast majority was aussies and kiwis.

some words of wisdom from a boss of mine long ago.. Make it easy for people to buy your product.... sadly seems some major corporations don't seem to get this wisdom and create systems or lack of systems that actually can make it very difficult to BUY their product...marketing is great but where the rubber meets the road is the buying process.

Princess also has a ton of complaints regarding website and medallion. Been going on for years and still problems. Take a look at the Princess boards which of course is the tip of the iceberg of people who actually took time to post on cruise critic. Every time I am on Princess there seems to be some issue and the line of passengers trying to get various issues resolved is long. Does seem to be more medallion issues....all sorts of people not able to make or see various res for special dining, shore excursions, etc.

And the problems continue year after year which for some inexplicable reason HAL/CCL seems incapable of fixing. Doesn't the head of IT get embarrased that in the day of tech everything that a major brand can't get a website and medallions working after years of trial and errors? What does he tell the CEO is the reason? Incompetence? Lack of funds? Don't care?

i for one hope the sapphire and diamond keep on sailing for princess....nice size pleasant ships imo...great pool decks with wonderful views at back of ship...decent walk around prom decks etc.

I would bet that the HAL staff on board behaving like the yelling i hate everyone willl soon be looking for a new job....there are rules for most all discounted passengers such as travel agent and interline fares and employees and families of employee....travel agents are certainly forbidden to solicit customers on a cruise and interline is instructed not to discuss their fares in any way. Nobody wants to get on a cruise and have somebody bragging how they got the cruise for a fraction of what you paid. If you cannot abide by the simple rules clearly laid out for discounted employee / agent/interline rates then your perks should be suspended. I remember long ago some couple where the husband had been a TWA mechanic decades ago and was travelling on a greatly reduced interline fare who wanted to make sure everyone at the mdr table knew he was travelling almost free...well good for you now shut up please was the general attitude of the rest of the table.

Wow that is all clear as mud...fortunately no dui for me but i can understand how it can be not so great to have all of this to deal with. Good luck.

sorry but i do not see a single window or porthole...i think club fusion nearby has windows but not wake view bar which seems weird to name a bar wake view if no windows? confusing?

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/shiptour.php?r=4759

skywalkers except sometimes there was some religious bunch there who thought everyone wanted to listen to them talking very loudly....fortunately seemed to be gone in an hour or so and a return to relative quiet for reading

Putting political or religious signs on a public hallway door where others can see it is just flat out wrong. I for one certainly hope that this is totally banned. I get plenty of having to listen and look at others opinions on land and generally find a cruise a good place for a respite. I have no desire to look at door decorations or hats or tee shirts or anything else remotely related to others political or religion preferences. A cruise is full of people with different beliefs and opinions and while some think that they have the right to promote their set of beliefs is absolute many, like me, don't want to see or hear it and appreciate cruise line rules to prevent it being enforced. Belive what you want but please leave it at home.

I think we all "feel your pain" as many of us have likely gone through similar situations from hell with any number of high profile corporations where you are treated like some kind of idiot or criminal when the fault is completely with the big corporations poor training, poor procedure, etc. Princess should also offer you some sort of compensation OBC to reimburse you for all the time you wasted and overall aggravation. Any company can make a mistake but when this mistake is brought to a supervisor and they still can't get it right one has to wonder exactly who/why such a person would ever be made a supervisor. I hate to even think how many hours of frustration lots of people have been through in similar situations and in the end they may get a "oh sorry" if that.

Now you have some ships (ncl?) that have a couple of dozen upcharge restaurants ...more than the included ones. correction: should have said...some ships that have a dozen or so upcharge restaurants....ncl i was on had 11 surcharge which was more than included ones...

good way to meet some credit card spends quickly to get points...that and buying costco ((visa only) or sams/walmart gift cards....which never expire

Once upon a time the specialty restaurants with an upcharge were designed for passengers to celebrate special events like an anniversary or birthday. A few ships tried it out with one specialty restaurant promoted for special occasions. Then lo and behold it turned out that more and more people were actually willing to pay more to eat food even though they had already paid for a lot of included food at mdr, lido, etc. The bean counters were no doubt estatic that they had discovered a way to increase revenues and thus more and more and more upcharge restaurants were added. It seems that many cruisers now are very willing to fork over hundreds more $$ to eat in these restaurants. The quaint idea that you only go to celebrate a birthday or some special event are long gone. Now you have some ships (ncl?) that have a couple of dozen upcharge restaurants ...more than the included ones. And one that I was on had very long lines for the included so people got tired of the hassle and ended up going to the extra charge ones rather than stand in line. As for me yes I have eaten in many upcharge restaurants on different ships. But these days I am perfectly happy to skip all of them as I find the pricing has overall gone up and the quality and exlusivity feeling has gone down. It also seems from reading forums these days that people often struggle to get a reservation in the specialty restaurants. Not my idea of what i want to deal with on a cruise. Unfortunately I suspect that the number of extra fee restaurants will continue to go up and up while the number of included options will decrease or end up with longer lines and less space more or less forcing pax to pay extra to dine semi hassle free. I also remember well long ago when the biggest selling point of cruise vacations was the idea that almost everything was included in the fare. Yes you had a tiny room compared to a normal hotel room but look at what was included food wise. Not so much anymore. But the ships are all full and the profits are rolling in. How far can the cruise lines push the envelope? Will it ultimately be all restaurants are a fee, showrooms have a cover charge, and basic cruise includes no or very little included choices? We shall see but it is for sure trending that direction. The tide comes in, the tide goes out.

don't tell everyone about the hidden gems of obstructed priced rooms with little to zero obstructions...save those for those of us who do a bit of research?

I disembarked in brisbane from japan cruise last september from diamond princess....all i remember is a very long line to get to the exit that seemed to move at a snails pace....looked to me like not enough immigration staff to handle the number of people most of whom were aussies...also seemed most were staying on to syd but we were all in the same long lines. No idea re aussie law or why all the people not disembarking had to stand in those long lines. All i can say is thank goodness i was not on some 5000 pax ship as that would have been some major long lines.

so you sign a credit card slip for what you think is the full amount and then few days later an additional charge appears? i think that is what the posters here are saying but maybe i don't understand why not just have everyone sign a chit at the table for whatever the total total amount will be charged to their account? Seems relatively simple solution to me...or maybe they do sign it now?...i haven't eaten in extra fee restaurants in a while as just not that interested in them and very happpy with the included food spots. ....yes it is on the menu at the bottom but i don't see any explanation of service charge vs gratuities and understandable how some are confused as to what is included with packages and what is an additional service charge.etc. ..plus lots of people likely don't spend much time reading fine print at the bottom of a menu especially in low light restaurants full of old people whose eyesight may not be optimal...

I wonder how many people leave a nice cash tip only to be surprised later to see another tip or service charge or whatever they call it on their account that they did not expect? I would much prefer to settle my complete bill on the spot by signing a chit rather than having it posted later which obviously comes as a surprise to many who maybe don't notice fine print on a menu? Seems a bit of a gimmick to me. Just give me a chit to sign that covers it all and then if i want to tip on top of that so be it. Imagine going to a land based restaurant where you charge the meal and tip to your credit card only to get your credit card bill and see that an additional "service charge" was added later? Not exactly the same but pretty darn close.

Princess proudly announces "dorm style rooms"....three double bunk beds in 178 sf luxurious staterooms designed for singles who don't mind sharing with total strangers of either sex....earplugs provided for free...limit one small carry on bag that will also act as your pillow....no single supplement but there is a five min max time limit in the bathroom per person. No dogs allowed.

Maybe change your name to "Benjamin" to book as it is all about the "Benjamins"? Maybe soon a line will offer a hostel type room with two bunk beds and singles buy one bed in bunkbed room for 4. Pack em in like sardines and hope they spend $$ while on board. Or maybe designate a "camping area" on an outside deck where you pitch a tent like on some ferry boats?

It means you pick up the drinks tab for everyone...just kidding...no idea what it means.

I had several of them sitting in a closet for few years...when i finally took them out they had all deteriorated and were falling apart....not exactly great quality like the old holland cloth bags that you can throw in washing machine and they seem to last forever.